Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. By mahalath [C perhaps “sickness”]. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David.
53 Fools say ·to themselves [L in their hearts],
“There is no God [C Psalm 14 largely parallels this psalm].”
·Fools are evil [L They are corrupt] and do ·terrible [detestable] things [Deut. 32:5];
none of them does anything good.
2 God looked down from heaven on all people
to see if anyone was ·wise [insightful],
if anyone was ·looking to God for help [seeking God].
3 But all have ·turned [wandered] away.
Together, everyone has become ·evil [perverse];
none of them does anything good.
Not a single person [Rom. 3:10–12].
4 Don’t ·the wicked [L those who do evil] ·understand [know]?
They ·destroy [consume; L eat] my people as if they were ·eating [consuming] bread.
They do not ·ask God for help [call on God].
5 The wicked are ·filled [terrified] with terror
where there ·had been nothing to [L was no] fear.
God will scatter the bones of ·your enemies [the godless].
You will ·defeat [shame; humiliate] them,
because God has rejected them.
6 I pray that ·victory [salvation] will come to Israel from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple, the house of God]!
May God ·bring them back [restore the fortunes of his people; C perhaps at the end of the exile].
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,
and the people of Israel will be glad.
Israel Defeats the Philistines
23 A ·group from [unit/detachment of] the Philistine army had gone out to the pass at Micmash.
14 One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, said to ·the officer who carried his armor [his armor bearer], “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine ·camp [outpost] on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
2 Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree at ·the threshing floor [or Migron] near Gibeah. He had about six hundred men with him. 3 One man was Ahijah who was wearing the ·holy vest [ephod; Ex. 28:6–14]. (Ahijah was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh.) No one knew Jonathan had left.
4 There was a ·steep slope [rocky crag/cliff] on each side of the pass that Jonathan planned to go through to reach the Philistine ·camp [outpost]. The cliff on one side was named Bozez, and the cliff on the other side was named Seneh. 5 One ·cliff [crag] faced north toward Micmash. The other faced south toward Geba.
6 Jonathan said to his ·officer who carried his armor [armor bearer], “Come. Let’s go to the ·camp [outpost] of those men who are not circumcised [C Philistines were among the few Near Eastern people of the day who did not practice circumcision; it had special significance in Israel; Gen. 17:9–14]. Maybe the Lord will ·help [act/work something for] us. The Lord ·can give us victory if [is able to save/rescue whether] we have many people, or just a few.”
7 ·The officer who carried Jonathan’s armor [His armor bearer] said to him, “Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. ·I’m with you [Our hearts/minds are one].”
8 Jonathan said, “Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you [C in order to kill them],’ we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us [C in order to fight],’ we will climb up, and the Lord will ·let us defeat them [L give them into our hands]. This will be the sign for us.”
11 When they both let the Philistines see them, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!” 12 The Philistines in the ·camp [outpost] shouted to Jonathan and his officer, “Come up to us. ·We’ll teach you a lesson [or We have something to tell/show you]!”
Jonathan said to his ·officer [armor bearer], “Climb up behind me, because the Lord has given the Philistines ·to [L into the hands of] Israel!” 13 So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, and his ·officer [armor bearer] climbed just behind him. ·Jonathan struck down the Philistines [L And they fell before Jonathan] as he went, and his ·officer [armor bearer] killed ·them as he followed [those who came from] behind him. 14 In that first ·fight [attack; slaughter] Jonathan and his officer killed about twenty Philistines over a ·half acre [L yoke] of ground.
15 All the Philistine soldiers panicked—those in the ·camp [outpost] and those in the raiding party. ·The ground itself shook [An earthquake struck]! God had caused the panic.
16 Saul’s ·guards [watchmen] were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin when they saw the ·Philistine soldiers [L vast army; multitude] ·running in every direction [L melting away, here and there]. 17 Saul said to his army, “·Check to see who has left our camp [Call the roll and see who has left us].” When they ·checked [called the roll], they learned that Jonathan and his ·officer [armor bearer] were gone.
18 So Saul said to Ahijah the priest, “Bring the ·Ark of God[a] [or ephod; C see text note; both are means of discerning God’s will].” (At that time ·it was with [or he was wearing it in front of] the Israelites.) 19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp was growing. Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Put your hand down! [C to stop the inquiry of God]”
20 Then Saul ·gathered his army [assembled; gathered] and entered the battle. They found the Philistines [L totally; greatly] confused, striking each other with their swords! 21 Earlier, there were Hebrews who had ·served [defected/gone over to] the Philistines and had stayed in their camp, but now they ·joined [went over to] the Israelites with Saul and Jonathan. 22 When all the Israelites hidden in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim heard that the Philistine soldiers were running away, they also joined the battle ·and chased the Philistines [in hot pursuit]. 23 So the Lord ·saved [rescued; delivered] the Israelites that day, and the battle ·moved on past [spread beyond] Beth Aven.
Paul Ends His Letter
11 See what large letters I use to write this ·myself [L with my own hand; C added to authenticate the letter; the rest had likely been dictated]. 12 Some people are trying to force you to be circumcised ·so the Jews will accept them [or to impress others by external standards; L to make a good showing in the flesh]. They do this only to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ [C the Gospel message of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross]. 13 [L For] Those who are circumcised do not obey the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised so they can ·brag [boast] ·about what they forced you to do [L in your flesh]. 14 ·I hope I will never [L May it never be that I] ·brag [boast] about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. ·Through that cross [or Through Jesus Christ; L …through which/whom] the world has been crucified to me and I have been crucified to the world. 15 It ·is not important [makes no difference; is nothing] if a man is circumcised or uncircumcised. The important thing is ·being the new people God has made [L a new creation; 2 Cor. 5:17]. 16 Peace and mercy to those who ·follow [walk/live by] this rule—and to ·all of God’s people [L the Israel of God; C either: (1) Jewish Christians or (2) the church as the “new Israel”].
17 ·So [or In conclusion; or From now on] do not give me any more trouble. [L For] I ·have scars on my body that show I belong to Jesus [L bear the marks of Jesus on my body; C from his many beatings for the Gospel; perhaps also indicating his “branding” as a slave of Jesus Christ].
18 My brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.